Chromatography Forum

Dear All,

our environmental laboratory planning to buy secondhand GS with FID, and later complete this system with MSD. Seems our choice is HP 5890 Series II because we planning use it with ChemStation on later PC (Win2K, XP).

But I can't find any information about difference between 'Series II' and 'Series II Plus'. Also for me unclear question about HP units with integrators - how possible (how much problematic) connect this model to PC with Chemstation?

With best regards,
Vadym

OK: HP 5890 series is a great GC. However, it is out of factory support, and you may not be able to upgrade the way you desire, so this may not be the best choice "to purchase". That said, we still operate about 4 of these. To connect to a ChemStation the GC itself will need an HPIB board, may or may not already have this. Your computer will also need an HPIB board, usually like 82335 for Pentium I and 82341 or 82350 for newer computers. Win2000 and XP usually go with more-modern software such as A.09 or newer, and 5890 firmware may not be compatible; we run one 5890 on Win2000 with A.06.03 and it works OK. If you plan to someday update to MSD, you'll face similar issues.

Yeah do not buy a 5890 for use with a MS. 5890 is out of support and we do best effort repairs if you can get the parts from restek or someone else but we no longer manufacture a lot of the parts so if something breaks you'll be on your own.

You can buy an HPIB->USB interface from Agilent now CPG, you have to install the IO library and do a bit of tweaking but its not too bad.

Obviously price is a factor since you're going for a 5890 so I'm sure a 7890 would be out of the question. The 6890 should be in support for a good while since there are so many in the field, so if you need to save money it'll be your best option.

One issue that can pop up with a 6890 is the type of MSD it is connected to.
We had a 6890 coupled to a 5973MSD which we bought in ~ 1997. It was running off of an HP Vectra computer. Really, really slow and out of date.

We had the instrument upgraded so that it could run off a networking style attachment (essentially converted it into the next model, the HP5973N). This allowed the use of an XP computer and the most up to date Chemstation version for a 5973N.

I think you have to do some homework with the right sales agent or someone in the know to figure out just which GC will couple with which kind of MSD, and in turn, which computer/Chemstation options will actually work. It can get kind of complicated.

Many years ago we converted an HP GC with an intergrator to a GCMS instrument, while the 5890 was still in support. We spent close to $5,000 to upgrade the GC, including Option 580- the HPIB for the GC, new processor board for the GC, and some other smaller odds and ends. It turned out that it wouldn't have cost much more to buy a new GC.

I think Ron makes a good point about costs and time for upgrades, vs. the cost of getting a new instrument. Sometimes the initially more expensive route pays off in the long run. Although, I fully understand that the economics of now come into play.

For what it is worth, we have HP/Agilent GCMS systems and Thermo DSQ GCMS systems in our lab. Not to try and sound like a sales pitch here, but I've found the DSQ systems to be quite a good value, and a robust instrument as well. I have to admit, I am not familiar with the newer 5975 GCMS units from Agilent, so I am not qualified to compare and contrast new instruments. But, regardless, GCMS instruments have become less expensive and more robust, so I would encourage anyone who is really interested in the mass spec aspect to go ahead and buy a packaged, new system if at all possible.

Yup, I did an install for a new Agilent 7890 the other day where the customer said that the cost for a 6890 v. 7890 actually came out about $1500 ahead just getting the 7890 new.

You never know what upgrades might be necessary 3, 6, or 12 months down the road with a used GC even in good condition. (Though, hell, GCMS can be fickle enough that things can be frustrating even with a new system)

I do really recommend checking out Agilent for mass spec, all the customers I've talked to love them. People who have a lot of problems usually ignore our advice at installation or have operators that don't know what they're doing. If you care for it properly it'll last you a long time.

I agree that if you will interface this GC with a MS later do not get a 5890.
If you are in the states contact Alpha Omega Tech ( 800 842 5742 ) and they can set you up. If you are set on a 5890 they can configure one for your needs.